Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art

FAIN: GI-278350-21

Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, MN 55404-3506)
Robert Thomas Cozzolino (Project Director: September 2020 to present)

Implementation of a traveling exhibit examining the expression of supernatural and otherworldly ideas in American art.

The Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts (dba Minneapolis Institute of Art, or Mia) respectfully requests an exhibition implementation grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support "Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art." This exhibition, its accompanying publication and public programs will broadly examine the centrality of otherworldly concerns and the spectral imagination to American artists. Featuring approximately 170 objects from well-known artists as well as those never before exhibited in museums, the exhibition has been developed with input from a broad advisory group, including artists, academics, and community members. Objects will include paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, Spiritualist material culture, and video. "Supenatural America" is organized by Mia and will be shown at the Toledo Museum of Art and Speed Art Museum before its finale and closing presentation at Mia.

Associated Products

Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art (Exhibition)
Title: Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art
Curator: Robert Cozzolino, PhD
Abstract: America is haunted. Ghosts from our history are an inescapable and unsettled part of daily life. Not merely the realm of metaphor but present and tangible, urgently calling for contact, these otherworldly visitors have been central to our national identity. They populate our literature, our entertainment, and our art. Through times of mourning and trauma, artists have been integral to visualizing ghosts, whether national or personal, and in doing so have embraced the mysterious and the inexplicable. This exhibition explores the numerous ways that artists in the United States have made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural, developing a rich visual culture of the intangible.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/supernatural-america-the-paranormal-in-american-art
Primary URL Description: Webpage for exhibition at Mia

The medium in the family: Talking to the dead, Wisconsin style (Blog Post)
Title: The medium in the family: Talking to the dead, Wisconsin style
Author: Tim Gihring
Abstract: Exhibition-related blog post
Date: 4/19/22
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/the-medium-in-the-family-talking-to-the-dead-wisconsin-style
Primary URL Description: Webpage for blog post
Blog Title: The medium in the family: Talking to the dead, Wisconsin style
Website: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/the-medium-in-the-family-talking-to-the-dead-wisconsin-style

What is haunting America? And why does it matter now? (Blog Post)
Title: What is haunting America? And why does it matter now?
Author: Lacey Prpic Hedtke
Abstract: Exhibition-related blog post
Date: 3/2/22
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/what-is-haunting-america-and-why-does-it-matter-now
Blog Title: What is haunting America? And why does it matter now?
Website: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/what-is-haunting-america-and-why-does-it-matter-now

The spirit world called. This artist answered. (Blog Post)
Title: The spirit world called. This artist answered.
Author: Tim Gihring
Abstract: Exhibition-related blog post
Date: 2/11/22
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/the-spirit-world-called-this-artist-answered
Blog Title: The spirit world called. This artist answered.
Website: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/the-spirit-world-called-this-artist-answered

Making contact: "Supernatural America" explores our long fascination with the unexplained (Blog Post)
Title: Making contact: "Supernatural America" explores our long fascination with the unexplained
Author: Robert Cozzolino, PhD
Abstract: Exhibition-related blog post
Date: 2/11/22
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/making-contact-supernatural-america-explores-our-long-fascination-with-the-unexplained
Website: https://new.artsmia.org/stories/making-contact-supernatural-america-explores-our-long-fascination-with-the-unexplained

Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art (Catalog)
Title: Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art
Author: Robert Cozzolino, PhD and multiple contribtors
Abstract: Exhibition catalogue
Abstract: America is haunted. Ghosts from its violent history—the genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and traumatic wars—are an inescapable and unsettled part of the nation’s heritage. Not merely in the realm of metaphor but present and tangible, urgently calling for contact, these otherworldly visitors have been central to our national identity. Through times of mourning and trauma, artists have been integral to visualizing ghosts, whether national or personal, and in doing so have embraced the uncanny and the inexplicable. This stunning catalog, accompanying the first major exhibition to assess the spectral in American art, explores the numerous ways American artists have made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural, developing a rich visual culture of the intangible. ​Featuring artists from James McNeill Whistler and Kerry James Marshall to artist/mediums who made images with spirits during séances, this catalog covers more than two hundred years of the supernatural in American art. Here we find works that explore haunting, UFO sightings, and a broad range of experiential responses to other worldly contact. Details: 320 pages; 200 color plates. © 2021
Year: 2022
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://shop.artsmia.org/collections/exhibition-catalogues/products/supernaturalamericatheparanormalinamericanart
Primary URL Description: Catalogue webpage
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: Minneapolis Institute of Art and University of Chicago Press

Prizes

Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award
Date: 1/24/2022
Organization: College Art Association
Abstract: 2022 recipient of Award of Distinction

Numerous Public Lectures & Presentations (see below) (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Numerous Public Lectures & Presentations (see below)
Abstract: Public lectures, presentation 2/19 Supernatural America Opening Weekend: 60 (in-person) 2/20 Supernatural America Virtual Opening Weekend: 176 (virtual) 3/5 Virtual Event: At the Mouth of the Cave: 12 (virtual) 3/19 Tarot Guided Zine Workshop with Gabby Cole and Grover Hogan: 45 (virtual) 3/26 Open Studio: Altars with Khusaba Seka: 75 (in-person) 3/27 Artist Conversation: The Art of Celebrating Loss with Khusaba Seka: 226 (hybrid: 126 virtual, 100 on-site) 3/31 Talk: Molly McGarry on Spiritualism: 115 (in-person) 4/2 Artist Activation: Ancestral Tremors film screening by Chitra Vairavan: 50 (in-person) 4/7 Stories of the Supernatural with MCAD and Moon Palace Books: 57 (off-site at Moon Palace Books) 4/10 Family Day: Supernatural America: 2453 (in-person) 4/16 Artist Activation: Ghost in the Machines video screening by Shawna Lee: 60 (in-person) 4/21 Panel Discussion: Indigenous Futures: 54 (in-person) 5/5 An Evening with Alison Saar: 64 (in-person)
Author: N/A
Date: 2/19/2022
Location: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/supernatural-america-the-paranormal-in-american-art
Primary URL Description: Exhibition webpage

Audio Guide (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Audio Guide
Writer: Robert Cozzolino, PhD
Director: Robert Cozzolino, PhD
Producer: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Abstract: An audio guide was created by Mia for audience use in the exhibition. There were 4,952 users of this audio guide during the exhibition’s run at Mia for a total of 11,541 sessions. Robert Cozzolino, curator of Supernatural America, discusses ideas and artworks in the exhibition with fourteen artists and advisors. The entire tour is about one hour and can be enjoyed in the exhibition or at home. We encourage you to browse the stops and listen to those that interest you most.
Date: 2/19/22
Primary URL: https://mobile.mia.yourcultureconnect.com/e/supernatural-america
Primary URL Description: Link to Audio Guide on Mia's website
Format: Digital File

Exhibition Text Panels (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Exhibition Text Panels
Author: Robert Cozzolino, PhD
Abstract: Text Panels: Artists’ Quotes and Big Questions. Mia provided quotes and questions to invite visitor response and engagement in and with the exhibition. Eighty percent of survey respondents at Mia reported that they used the questions, with over 70% reporting that the questions contributed positively or somewhat positively to their experience. Ninety-one percent of the survey respondents at Mia reported that they used the Artist’s quotes, with more than 80% reporting they contributed positively positively or somewhat positively to their experience.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/supernatural-america-the-paranormal-in-american-art
Primary URL Description: Exhibition website
Audience: General Public

Supernatural America webpages (Web Resource)
Title: Supernatural America webpages
Author: Robert Cozzolino, PhD
Abstract: "Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art" exhibition web pages on Mia's website with links to related events, related blogs, and exhibition catalogue. Donor recognition is on this page, as well.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/supernatural-america-the-paranormal-in-american-art
Primary URL Description: Link to webpage

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